Using it well · 6 minute read
Marine autopilot remote controls
Wired and wireless autopilot remotes, plotter control and phone apps: what they add on a shorthanded boat, what fails, and what to practise before trusting one.
The autopilot control head is almost always in the wrong place. It is at the helm, and the helm is where you are not, because you are at the mast reefing, on the foredeck sorting a snagged furler, or sitting to windward trimming. A remote puts course control where the work is, and on a shorthanded boat that changes how the boat is sailed.
Remotes come in four broad forms: a wired handheld on a cable, a wireless handheld or wrist unit, control through a multifunction display, and control through a phone or tablet app. Each has a place and each has a failure mode worth understanding before you depend on it.
Key facts
- Best value
- A wired remote with a socket in the cockpit and at the mast
- Wireless
- Frees the foredeck, but plan for signal loss
- MFD control
- Good for route work, poor for a fast nudge
- Phone apps
- Convenient monitoring, not a primary control
- Risk
- A remote invites you to leave the cockpit alone
- Practise
- Disengaging from the remote and from the helm
Why a remote changes shorthanded sailing
The value is not laziness, it is being able to finish a job properly. Putting in a reef singlehanded involves bearing away or coming up, easing, winding, and settling the boat again. Doing that with course control in your hand means you never have to leave a half-tensioned reef to scramble aft and adjust the heading.
It matters again at the bow. Picking up a mooring, dropping a pick in a crowded anchorage in the Whitsundays, or clearing a foul on the anchor is far easier when the person at the bow can nudge the heading rather than shouting instructions over the engine.
For fishing and power boats the same logic applies at the cockpit. Being able to adjust the track from where you are working rather than walking back to the helm is a genuine safety gain, because the alternative is someone crossing a moving deck.
Wired autopilot remote controls
A wired handheld plugs into a socket and cannot lose signal, cannot go flat and cannot be dropped over the side without you noticing. On most systems you can fit more than one socket, so the same handheld works from the cockpit, the mast or the companionway.
The compromises are the cable, which is one more thing to trip on, and the sockets themselves, which must be properly sealed or they corrode. Fit them where they will not be sat on or stood on, and keep the blanking caps on.
For a cruising couple, a wired remote with two sockets is usually the highest-value accessory on the whole pilot. It is cheap, it never surprises you, and it removes most of the reasons to leave a job half done.
Wireless autopilot remotes and connection limits
Wireless handhelds and wrist units are the answer for foredeck work and for boats where running a cable is impractical. Raymarine has offered a wireless SmartController style handheld, Garmin supplies wireless remotes for its Reactor systems, Navico has a wireless remote arrangement used with B&G and Simrad pilots, and NKE offers a wrist remote favoured by shorthanded racers. Availability and model names change, so check what is current for your system with a dealer.
Treat them as convenience rather than primary control. Know what the pilot does when the link drops: most simply hold the last commanded course, which is usually the safe behaviour, but you should see it happen once, deliberately, in open water.
Battery care is the other discipline. A wrist remote that lives on charge in the nav station and gets picked up as you go on deck is useful. One that lives in a wet locker and is flat when you need it is not. Check it before a passage the way you check a torch.
A remote makes it easier to be alone on deck
Control from the plotter, and route following
Every current system lets the pilot be driven from the multifunction display: a Raymarine Axiom, a Garmin GPSMAP, a Simrad NSS or a B&G Zeus. This is the natural place to hand the pilot a route, confirm a leg change or see cross-track error, and on a big screen the picture is far clearer than on a small control head.
It is a poor substitute for a dedicated control head or a remote when you want a quick five degree nudge, because you are two menu taps away and looking at a screen rather than the water. Keep a physical control within reach.
Know exactly how your system asks you to confirm a waypoint change. Most require a deliberate acknowledgement before turning onto a new leg, which is a good safety design. If yours can turn automatically, understand what it will do and when.
Phone and tablet apps
Manufacturer apps that mirror the plotter over the boat's wifi are excellent for monitoring: checking the heading, the wind and the cross-track error from a bunk is genuinely useful on a long passage. Some allow autopilot control as well, subject to the app and the system.
Do not make a phone the primary means of controlling the steering. Screens fail in rain, wifi drops, phones go flat, and a touchscreen with wet hands is a poor interface in the conditions where you most need to act. Use the app to watch and the hardware to act.
Autopilot remote control and takeover drills
The drills are short and they are the difference between a remote that helps and one that adds confusion. Do them in daylight in open water, then once more at night.
A handover session with the installer is the right time to run through these, because they will also show you the system's specific quirks: how a particular remote pairs, what the pilot does when the link drops, and which button does what in the dark.
- Disengage the pilot from the remote, then from the control head, then by hand at the wheel or tiller
- Make a ten degree and a ninety degree course change from the remote and watch the boat
- Deliberately walk out of range or power off the remote and observe what the pilot does
- Tack and gybe from the remote if your system supports it
- Reef singlehanded using the remote, with someone watching, before doing it alone
- Check remote battery level and spare batteries as part of the pre-passage routine
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need an autopilot remote?
If you sail shorthanded, yes, it is one of the highest-value additions to the system. It lets you finish a reef, a sail change or an anchoring job without leaving it half done to adjust the heading. With a full crew aboard it is a convenience rather than a necessity.
What happens if a wireless remote loses signal?
Most pilots simply continue on the last commanded heading, which is the safe default, and some will raise an alarm. You should confirm the behaviour of your own system deliberately in open water rather than discovering it at the bow. Never assume the pilot will stop or return to standby.
Can I control my autopilot from a phone?
Several manufacturers allow it through their apps over the boat's wifi, with varying levels of control. It is very useful for monitoring from below, but wet screens, dropped wifi and flat batteries make it a poor primary control. Keep a physical control head or remote as the thing you actually steer with.
Is it safe to leave the cockpit while the pilot steers?
It is routine on shorthanded boats, and it is also when people go overboard. Clip on before you leave the cockpit, keep the tether short enough that you cannot go past the lifelines, and keep a proper lookout while you work. The remote makes the job easier, not the water safer.
Will a remote from one brand work with another brand's pilot?
Generally no. Remotes are matched to the manufacturer's pilot and its network, and pairing is specific to the system. Check compatibility with a dealer for your exact course computer and software version before buying anything second-hand.
Practise autopilot operation with an instructor
Habits are learned at the helm with someone watching. The training section explains what a good instructor covers and where to find one in your state.